Yodhehvauheh_ pointed out in the comments section of the page that the 2015 Tool June Newsletter has been updated finally. Part of it we already know, in that Puscifer are playing at the Monster Mash Festival in Arizona. The other part is something a little more cryptic.

What should be of interest is the deal… I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

PUSCIFER ADDED TO MONSTER MASH FEST LINEUP

PUSCIFER has been added to the MONSTER MASH FEST LINEUP and is set to perform on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER, 1 on the WEST STAGE.

“What is the Deal?” I hear you say? There have been some strong rumours about the place that there would be further Tool shows later this year. I had it suggested to me that LA (most likely the Staples Center) was likely to be one of these dates The Deal could be suggesting that the negotiation behind getting shows set up or almost done and the contracts close to being signed. This being the case I’d expect some kind of announcement in the coming weeks.

Just in case you guys have forgotten, Tool touring buddies Yob are hitting our Australian shores this August for a range of shows in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The great news for me is that an Adelaide show was added to the tour, which wasn’t included in the original announcement. I’ll be there, and am really looking forward to it.

Yob released their latest album Clearing the Path To Ascend last year, and it’s a great album that made it to my top 10 (and also yours). If you haven’t done so already, I suggest checking it out. Below is one of the tracks from the album – Marrow

This page contains all the latest Tool news and rumours collected by me from a bunch of sources. It also collects information for a range of Tool related acts – usually side projects such as A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, and friends of Tool such as Yob and The Melvins.

If you know anything you think is missing from this page, feel free to let me know!

As expected, Puscifer have officially been added to the Monster Mash lineup on November 1st with Linkin Park, Rob Zombie and Deftones. No word on if Drown By Mom will also be playing. Get tickets here!

Blair has published the Tool July 2015 Newsletter on Toolband this morning, and this time around it addresses Pluto, interviewing parking bollards, and hints at some further work being done on the new Tool album. It also gives Fourtheye a few plugs!

Okay, by now some of you might be thinking, “fuck this expansive mind-stuff! I’m going to go to the fourtheye site to see if there’s any real news?” Fine, but if you leave now, you won’t hear about my plan to personally interview one of the new parking bollards at the Tool loft/rehearsal space. That’s right! In keeping with my ‘leave no stone unturned, fine-tooth comb’ reporting style, I wasn’t going to let any identity-separation illusion get in my way of finding out what one of the highly-visible barriers thinks about Maynard’s new vocals, which I believe that the band members have heard in some stage of development on a particular track or two? No, sharing my mind with a non-conscious thing seemed like a no brainer…

At also hints that the name of the new album could start with a “P”. Parking Bollards? Pluto Rising? Potato? Puscifers? Any other suggestions from you guys?

Also, don’t forget to head on down to the Baked Potato for one of their fine spuds. My personal favorite is the Chicken Parmesan Potato, washed down with at least two beers.

Many of you would be aware that Vic Firth passed away on the 26th of July. Vic was best known as the founder of a company that designs and manufactures drumsticks, including those that Danny Carey uses.

Danny is one of their signature artists and his custom drumstick features “a cut-in design at the gripping area for improved comfort and a tapered butt end for improved balance”. I own a pair, and I’d agree they are a unique design, though a little heavy for my personal tastes.

Danny had the following tribute for Vic, which was posted on Toolband recently:

“The world has lost one of its greatest percussionist. Vic Firth, who was the principal timpanist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for over 45 years, died on Sunday at the age of 85. Vic was a gentleman, scholar, and a father figure to me and everyone I knew that associated with him in the percussion world. His love and knowledge of drumming, stick and mallet making, and… cooking will be an inspiration for generations to come. Vic’s kindness and generosity always shined through. I knew I could call him at any hour and he would call back sharing his wealth of information and help me solve any problem I had come to him with. He will be dearly missed.”
Danny Carey

As promised, today sees the release of the new track from Puscifer – Grand Canyon. The track itself doesn’t stray far from what you’d expect from Puscifer, and it has a cool video to accompany it.

Also revealed is the title of the new Puscifer album, Money Shot. According to Rolling Stone we can expect to see it released on October 30, 2015.

While Tool continue to drag out the suspense surrounding the long-overdue follow-up to 2006’s 10,000 Days – and to prank the exasperated fans awaiting it – the band’s ever-prolific singer Maynard James Keenan has another record in the pipeline from his electro-rock project Puscifer. The group will release its third album, Money Shot, on October 30th, and has offered the first sights and sounds from the new LP with the video for “Grand Canyon,” which can be viewed above.

The video for Puscifer Grand Canyon is directed by Maynard James Keenan, Puscifer and Ghost Atomic. It’s shot by Gavin Fisher and Odin Wadleigh and edited by Odin Wadleigh and Michael Marlett.

In news that won’t come as a huge surprise to many, it appears likely that Puscifer are about to be added to the Monster Mash Fest lineup in Arizona, which also includes Tool. The image which I’ve included below, suggests they will play the night after Tool, which I believe Linkin Park and Deftones are also playing.

Also hinted at in the message, a new Puscifer video which appears to be coming to Rolling Stone tomorrow. If/when it comes online, I’l post it!

Volto! will be playing at the Mint in Los Angeles next weekend on August 1st. Volto! are Danny Carey, John Ziegler and Lance Morrison. The show is for 21+ and presumably tickets will be at the door.

Danny will also be playing with the Webb Allstars at the Baked Potato this coming Thursday the 30th of July. Also playing will be Doug Web, Mitch Forman, Jimmy Earl and John Ziegler.

Not much else seems to be coming out of the Tool camp at the moment. I imagine there might be a newsletter from Blair in the coming days. Maybe it will reveal something about the curveball, or confirm that Tool are still hard at work on the album. Maynard posted on Facebook the other day that the Arizona vintage is now underway, so I expect there may not be much time for him to work with the other three until the show in October.

As I was poking around Fourtheye today, I noticed that we’ve actually passed the 10th Anniversary of this site, back on June 8th 2005. It’s been a long and fruitful journey, and hopefully one that will continue for some time yet.

Over the years I’ve made 2,124 posts (2125 including this one) which have gathered over 31,000 comments. We’ve worn out a couple of forums, and even shifted servers over the years.

The site, which started as a way to help Toolarmy members get news via new fangled (at the time) RSS-feed technology, which was something that wasn’t available from the official Tool sites, nor any of the Tool fansites at the time. Facebook was hardly even a thing, with Myspace just starting to make it’s brief rise to the top. Toolshed was being infrequently updated, and a number of other Tool sites vanished into the ether. I even read Usenet posts in alt.music.tool, which may or may not still exist. I decided since I wanted a central place for Tool news, that there would be others, and Fourtheye was the result. It should be noted that since Fourtheye came into existence, Toolband has never been updated, and it still doesn’t have an RSS feed. Toolarmy sadly still remains a shadow of it’s former self.

Fourtheye doesn’t survive without the support of many. Dan from Toolnavy and CamelCamelCamel offers frequent support with hosting. Blair from Toolband has always been there clarifying Tool news for me, and answering questions from both myself and Tool fans. Thanks to our many sources out there, some that can be named, and others that can’t that have provided Tool news over the years. Kudos to Kittaan, Kat and others over on the forum. Kat helps fun the popular Facebook Tool Army Members page which no doubt many of you are familiar with.

And of course the hundreds, if not thousands of Fourtheye readers out there. Many of you I know from comments on the site or the forum. Some I’ve even met in the flesh at Tool shows. There are others who have provided me with much friendship over the years, and I’m sure will continue to do so as time moves forward. Of course there are silent, non-commenting readers out there as well. Sometimes the wisest opinion is the one left unexpressed.

Many of you (perhaps not the RSS readers) will have noticed a new theme applied to Fourtheye today. It’s one that is still a work in progress, but I believe offers a good range of features, a modern look, and, increasingly importantly these days – a responsive design to allow better use on mobile devices. Feedback on these changes are always welcome. Simply leave a comment below or get in touch with me privately via the contact form.

Finally, I’ll make a couple of predictions, some of which may or may not be based in information collected over the last few months:

Don’t get your hopes up for the 2015 release, but you should be somewhat confident that you’ll see a new Tool album in 2016, hopefully before the 10th Anniversary of 10,000 Days.

The curveball will see the light of day in the next couple of months. It will be a surprise to many, and a disappointment to some.

European fans will be happy to see Tool doing the rounds in summer next year.

Don’t be surprised if another show or two happens this year.

Toolband will be updated in the next 6 months. It still won’t include an RSS feed

We’ll see a change of direction in Tool art on the next album. Think of the work done by Adi Granov on the Opiate reissue.